


Courtesy Call

by foureyed_tozier



Category: IT (2017), IT - Stephen King
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, Asexual Mike Hanlon, Bisexual Bill Denbrough, Bisexual Richie Tozier, Bisexual Stanley Uris, Demisexual Beverly Marsh, Gay Eddie Kaspbrak, Gen, Pansexual Ben Hanscom, based off of liliemm on tumblr, mutant AU, not ship-centric, so much song references it's almost a songfic, uh
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-21
Updated: 2018-08-21
Packaged: 2019-06-30 17:54:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,806
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15756789
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/foureyed_tozier/pseuds/foureyed_tozier
Summary: Seven kids, born with powers beyond their control.Seven teens, forced out of their lives with uncaring force.Seven 20-somethings, banding together to save the world.The lucky seven.Based off of liliemm on tumblr ( https://liliemm.tumblr.com/ ).





	Courtesy Call

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Liliemm's "Mutant AU"](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/408567) by liliemm. 



_If you look in the mirror and don’t like what you see_

_You can find out first hand what it’s like to be me_

_So gather 'round, piggies, and kiss this goodbye_

_I'd encourage your smiles, I'll expect you won't cry_

_\- The End. by My Chemical Romance_  

**Bill Denbrough**  had a little brother. His name was Georgie, and he could turn invisible. 

This was discovered in the most unfortunate of ways when Georgie was just six years old- he turned himself invisible while playing outside and couldn't figure out how to turn himself back for a week. 

Georgie was an anomaly, even among mutants- most didn't develop powers until around puberty. Bill himself didn't develop his powers until later that year, when the summer was coming to an end. 

Bill could hear voices in his head.

At first, his parents thought he was crazy- but a few trips to a therapist and she quickly discovered the problem.

Bill was a telepath. He could hear what everyone was thinking, all the time. 

Bill's parents panicked. If anyone discovered his powers, they would hate him. Maybe even try to kill him. So they worked with the therapist- who, luckily, wasn't anti-mutant- and he learned coping techniques. He went to school, blocked out the voices he could, and tried to learn. 

He was always isolated- even without knowing his mutation, the others suspected. The way his eyes were suddenly tainted silver all the time (a result of using his powers to block the voices), coupled with the way he always knew the answers, sometimes even before the teacher asked the question.

Some people were louder than others- his fellow mutants' thoughts screamed so loud he thought he would cry, including Georgie's. 

Bill met Eddie freshman year of high school. The boy had loud words and louder thoughts, and he was always hot. His mother locked him in the freezer, but he never talked about it- Bill had to tell Eddie that he could hear the thoughts swirling in the smaller boy's head.

Eddie didn't seem to care very much. In fact, he helped Bill practice using his powers effectively- he allowed Bill to rifle through his mind. He often used it instead of telling Bill anything, instead allowing him to hone in on specific memories even when Eddie wasn't actively thinking of them. 

When Eddie had to run away, Bill ran with him. Bill's parents sent Eddie, Bill, and Georgie to Zachary's father's house in Derry, Maine, where Mr. Denbrough ran a garage. 

Eddie loved the cars, and Bill loved the town. Georgie played in the park with the locals while Bill looked on and wrote. The three often swam in the quarry or played in the barrens. 

 

Bill was never happier then during those golden years in Derry. 

Before everything went wrong.

* * *

 

_Everybody knows that the dice are loaded_

_Everybody rolls with their fingers crossed_

_Everybody knows the war is over_

_Everybody know the good guys lost_

_\- Everybody Knows by Sigrid_

 

**Beverly Marsh**  had always been filled with passion. 

Her mutation showed itself when she was 12 and running away from home. Her father tried to grab onto her arm and he just... passed through her. While he stared in shock, she ran as hard and as fast as she could, all the way to the mutant orphanage two towns over. 

She lived in the orphanage for a month, bunking with a girl with a short dark bob and the power to manipulate water. Her name was Kay, and Beverly loved her. 

Bev spent most of her time in the library, reading books about fashion. She read everything she could get her hands on- her father had never let her read anything informational before. 

There was always one other person with her in the library. His name was Benjamin Hanscom, and he liked to build things. Bev liked Ben. He was quiet, and didn't ask lots of questions like Kay did. 

But the peace was bound to come to an end. Her father found her, and the Orphanage turned her back over to him. He waited until they were outside and dragged him back to the car by her ponytail. He drove her home an  yelled. He yelled so much. She cried, and he yelled more. 

Alvin Marsh tried everything to remove her mutation. He bought pills, forced her to go on a diet, brought her to conversion therapy with questionable methods. 

She ran away again when she was 16 years old, but this time, she didn't go somewhere predicable. She lived under bridges and stole takeout from the trash because they threw so much away at the end of the day. She started stealing money to buy new clothes. 

She met Richie when she was 18. They lived out of the back of his car and stole together. They had colorful encounters of all sorts. Bev would distract and Richie would break into the till (or, on occasion, Richie would do the distracting). 

Richie was her ride-or-die, and she wouldn't choose anything over the life she had now. 

 

* * *

 

_I was broken from a young age_

_Taking my sulking to the masses_

_Writing my poems for the few_

_That looked at me, took to me_

_\- Believer, Imagine Dragons_

 

**Ben Hanscom** was born an outcast. When his doctor handed him to his mother, he had apologized. His mother cried at the sight of the giant blue creature she'd birthed after nearly 72 hours in labor and immediately gave him up to the state. Bien grew up in Derry Orphanage, surrounded by fellow mutants. 

There was Ed Cochran, who could stretch his limbs beyond any Normal's imagination, and Betty Ripsom, who never wore shoes because she could fly. 

Some of the kids weren't as nice as Ed and Betty. There was Patrick Hockstetter, who joined the orphanage when he was five years old because his parents were convinced he had killed his baby brother. 

Patrick could mess with your mind, make you see things that weren't there and do things you didn't want to do. One time, he made Ben pee himself and eat sand. Ben hated Patrick.

When he was 11 years old, a girl with flaming red hair joined the orphanage. Her name was Beverly Marsh, and she didn't talk much.  She tended to jump when someone yelled or moved to fast. While Ben only spoke to her a few times, they often sat next to each other in the orphanage's modest library, reading together silently. 

Ben loved her hair so much, he wrote her a poem about it. 

Beverly wasn't in the orphanage for long- after about a month, her father came to pick her up. She seemed sad. 

Ben was 13 when he discovered what his mutation did. He could change his appearance. He could look like any person he wanted- research into his powers proved that it was called metamorphing. His friends loved it when he transformed- it was a really neat ability.

Ben left the orphanage on his 18th birthday, brimming with hope and innocence. He was going to go to college, become an architect. 

But the outside world wasn't like the orphanage. Ben had grown up surrounded by mutants, where his powers were normal and celebrated. Here, he was a abomination. Ben learned that most mutants don't get into college, let alone big fancy offices from which they can build enormous skyscrapers. Most mutants were killed in the streets, their murderers left free without a charge because murdering a mutant wasn't murdering a human. 

Dogs had better rights than Ben did.

He tried using his abilities to look normal, but his mask would melt off after 3 hours, and he would be exposed.

Ben finally found a job as a farmhand. Specifically, at Mike Hanlon's farm.

Mike was a mutant, too. He knew what it was like to be attacked at first sight. He could control plants with his mind, and was the first person in the year since Ben had left the orphanage to provide him with a home and a smile. 

Ben and Mike became fast friends. Ben never looked back. 

 

* * *

_A constellation of tears on your lashes_

_Burn everything you love then burn the, ashes_

_In the end, everything collides_

_My childhood spat back out the monster that you see_

_\- My Songs Know What You Did In The Dark by Fall Out Boy_

**Eddie Kaspbrak**  was just five years old when his world began to spin out of control. 

His father was killed, struck dead by one of the mutants, and with Frank gone, there was nobody left to keep Sonia in check. She went crazy, placing the blame on all mutants and convincing herself that Eddie’s grief was a sickness, forcing an inhaler on him. She joined an anti-mutant organization and called for all mutants to be rounded up and killed, like pigs to a slaughter. Despite all this, Eddie lived somewhat normally- he was never allowed to interact with strangers, for fear of mutants trying to take him away, and he never went anywhere alone. 

He was 11 when it first happened. He was working on his homework, becoming increasingly frustrated with a particular problem before, shockingly, the paper caught on fire. He quickly put it out, scared and worried. 

Over the course of the next few months, he realized he could create fire and change the temperature in a room with only his mind. He was afraid and alone, hating everything he was. He was just like one of the creatures that killed his Papa. 

He managed to hide the mutation from his mother for a year before she found out. It was simple, really- they’d gotten into another one of their arguments when his hands had just burst into flame. His mother had cried and he had apologized even though he couldn’t control it. 

This was the year Sonia went from controlling to flat out abusive. She did everything she could to “heal” her son of his mutation, giving him all kinds of pills to take and locking him in the freezer for days on end, not knowing that by forcing his body into survival situations she was only strengthening him.

He met Bill Denbrough when he was 14, well into the 2nd year of his mother’s experiments. Bill was a telepath. He could hear what other people thought, and people were afraid, so nobody would talk to him. 

Eddie didn’t have any friends, either, but he wanted to be friends with Bill. He began to talk to the introverted mutant, and quickly discovered Bill was the coolest person on the planet. Bill could ride a bike (Sonia never let Eddie learn how) and he could draw really well. He was making a comic book about his little brother, Georgie. He told Eddie about how when Bill was 11, Georgie discovered his ability to turn invisible and could figure out how to turn back for a week. 

Bill knew that Eddie couldn’t control his powers, that Sonia wasn’t helping, so he did his best to teach him, helping Eddie stay calm when he was angry or panicking so he wouldn’t light himself on fire.

Slowly but surely, Eddie and Bill’s bond strengthened, and the pair was able to communicate with their thoughts across great distances. Sometimes they’d stay up all night talking about everything and nothing, all completely soundlessly and right under Sonia’s nose. 

Eddie wasn’t afraid of mutants anymore. 

When he was 16, Sonia tried to lock him in the freezer again, so Eddie burned her. Badly. And this time, it was on purpose. She became furious, attempting to force him into a collar that could turn off mutant powers so she could bring him to a hospital where they were experimenting with long-term mutation suppression. 

Eddie locked his mother in the freezer, packed a bag and left, calling for Bill. Bill’s parents sent Bill and Eddie to Bill’s grandparents, then released Sonia from the freezer. She was later transferred to Juniper Hill. 

Bill’s grandpa owned a car service in a town called Derry. He was a telekinetic, and taught Eddie everything there was to hknow about cars. 

Eddie loved working at the service. He loved the black and white rules of cars, the simplicity amongst the grease and gears. By age 17, he was able to totally overhaul a car’s transmission. 

He was finally at peace. 

 

* * *

 

_I'm burning through the sky, yeah_

_200 degrees_

_That's why they call me Mister Fahrenheit_

_I'm traveling at the speed of light_

_\- Don't Stop Me Now by Queen_

 

**Richie Tozier**  was raised in a mutant household. 

His parents, Maggie and Wentworth Tozier, both had mutations. Maggie had gray skin and she could manipulate light. Wentworth could manipulate gravity and could teleport.

Richie? Richie could run.

 

He was the most tiring little kid ever. He was fast. Super fast. Ever since he was 4 years old. And he wasn’t just running fast, but talking fast- sometimes it was really hard to understand him. 

Maggie and Went couldn’t handle it. Most days, they would just let Richie run and run and run until he passed out and they carried him to bed. They had to ask Richie to repeat himself over and over and over until they understood.

They learned tricks to play with him while firing him out- Went would manipulate gravity so Richie had to struggle more to move. The little kid loved it- he would insist that Went did it more and more and more until he could barely move. 

It wasn’t easy, but they did everything to have a happy family- and they succeded. The only problem they had was money. Mutants struggled finding jobs, especially if your mutation wasvisible like- Maggie’s. 

As Richie grew, he learned to steal. At first he was caught stealing things like toilet paper, salt, or bread- things they needed at home. With time, he learned that it’s easier if he steals money.

Maggie and Went were upset. They felt like they had failed as parents- they couldn’t give their son everything.

Went and Richie had a big fight about his habits when he was 18, and it ended with Richie moving out in a storm of anger, traveling with Beverly. 

He didn’t see his parents after that, but he always wanted to go back. To apologize for being a bad son. Every day he nearly called Maggie, but he was too afraid. 

And so he lived, torn between his desire and his fear, the Trashmouth, fighting alongside the Red Ghost. 

 

* * *

_And you, you lay_

_Awake at night and scheme_

_Of all the things that you would change_

_But it was just a dream_

_\- Warriors by Imagine Dragons_

**Stanley Uris** was only twelve when his mutation began to form. 

People always knew he was mutant, even before the mutation really formed, because he was born with platinum hair, curls hanging over his eyes and giving him a perpetual edges look. 

Stan woke up one late night with a jolt, sharp, burning pain in his shoulder blades preventing him from sleeping. He let out a gritted groan as he stumbled out of bed, meaning to head straight for his parent’s bedroom. 

His legs gave out and he curled on the floor, letting out a scream as a tearing sound filled the small bedroom. Wet, hot blood poured down his back as the feathered tips of wings forced their way out of his back, matted with blood.

“Stan?” His mother burst in the room, eyes wild. She gasped when she saw her son on the floor, curled up and sobbing in pain, small brown wings fluttering from his bloody back. 

“We need to get him to a doctor,” Se said frantically, turning towards Donald with wild eyes. 

“The only doctor willing to treat mutants in a fifty mile radius died years ago.” Donald crouched next to his son, wincing in sympathetic pain. “We have to get this clean,” He said. 

They managed to coax Stan into a sitting position and they brought out disinfectant and lots of wet wipes. Andrea set at cleaning his back while Donald scrubbed at the floor. Within a few hours, it was as if nothing had happened- or, it would’ve been, if not for the giant, angel-like wings sprouting from his shoulders. Cleaning had revealed the feathers to be a soft brown dappled with black. “Like an owl,” Andrea tried to reassure her son. 

Stan sniffled, wiping tears off his cheeks. He stretched the wings and his face crumpled as he sobbed again. “I’m awful, Ma,” He sobbed. “Everyone will hate me.” 

“Oh, no, sweetie, they’re beautiful, really,” Andrea soothed him, pressing his face into her shoulder and brushing her fingers through his white curls. She looked worriedly up at her husband as the wings pushed out of Stan’s back further, causing him to let out a weak sob.

After a week or so, the growing slowed, having become proportional to the young boy’s body. Attempts to send him back to school were met with disgust from fellow students and even teachers, so they hired a tutor, also a mutant. She taught Stan everything. Out of curiosity, he learned several languages; Russian, Greek, German, French, and Spanish. For two years, Stan refused to use his wings- he could, but the painful reminder of his mutation was too much to bear. They constantly ached as they grew and grew with his body, shedding the soft brown down-like feathers and growing into sleek gray ones.

Alexandra finally convinced him to attempt flying. After about a year he could fly steadily at low altitudes, and another brought high soaring. Stan enjoyed flying- it gave him a space to be separate from everyone, a peaceful area, alone with the birds. 

He was eventually forced to seek asylum in a mutant shelter, school teasing having evolved into violent attacks, full-grown adults ripping at his feathers as he walked by them down the streets. 

His life was miserable. It wasn’t like the shelter could provide enough food and water for all the mutants there- mutants with extremely visible mutations like Stan’s wings. 

Stanley had hit his all time low.

* * *

Sometimes the only payoff for having any faith

_Is when it's tested again and again everyday_

_It might be your wound but they're my sutures_

_I am the sand in the bottom half of the hourglass_

_I try to picture me without you but I can't_

_\- Immortals by Fall Out Boy_

**Mike Hanlon**  was always surrounded by plants. 

He grew up on a farm, raised by two loving parents, Jessica and William Hanlon. He lived on the Hanlon farm with most of his family, home-schooled by his aunt until he reached high school.

So little Mike was stuck playing with the animals that lived on the farm. He loved them all, but the ones he loved best were Mr. Chips, his dog, and Sunny the lamb.

Sunny had been born when Mike was 12, and even though it made his Grandfather mad, Mike would bring her up to sleep in his bed with him and refused to let them kill her. 

His parents never minded, so Mike would often bring animals into the house- bunnies, chickens, even a baby pig named "Wilbur" after he read Charlotte's Web. The actions were put to a stop, however, when he tried to sneak in with Daisy the cow.

Mike's mutation didn't appear until he was 13. He could control the plants he was always surrounded by. He could make them grow as fast or as slow as he wanted in any direction. He thought his powers were amazing, and he often used them to help out on the farm. He didn't tell his parents, too worried they would be scared of him. 

When he was 14, however, his parents bought him a brand-new bike, one not handed down from uncles and cousins. He was so excited that a little flower just suddenly grew out of the top of his head.

That was the moment his parents discovered that he was a mutant. They were pretty shocked, as none of the family had ever been a mutant, but to Mike's relief, they weren't scared or angry. 

Pretty quickly, Mike discovered that whenever he is happy a little flower will grow out from his skin and when he feels bad, scared or sad, the flower will die.

The Hanlon Farm was pretty big, so when Mike's uncles got married and moved away, they needed some more workers. So, Will hired some people to live in the guest house and work on the farm. One of those men was Butch Bowers. He moved there with his girlfriend of the time, Rena, and his son, Henry. 

Henry was weird. He was loud and always angry, and he hated Mike from the moment he saw him. He pushed Mike to the ground when Mike tried to show him around the farm, and said he hated Mike for the color of his skin. 

Mike was very confused. Nobody had ever hated him because of his skin before. He didn't understand- he thought Henry's skin was just fine. His only problem with Henry was that he was an asshole. 

Henry was a mutant, too. But his mutation wasn't helpful or pretty. He could breathe fire like a dragon, and he used it to scare Mike all the time. 

There was one time he used it that would haunt Mike's dreams until the day he died. 

The day Henry Bowers burned down Hanlon Farms. 

He was mad. He was so, so mad. He wanted to kill is own father- and he succeeded. But the fire spread, and it took nearly everyone on the farm. 

The sole survivors were Mike's grandfather, Mike... and Henry himself. 

Henry fled the scene, and he was never seen again. 

Mike, his grandfather, and some volunteers from the nearby Derry helped rebuild the farm. 

Mike helped to rebuild their home. Two years passed, and while the pain became a bit better everyday, no flowers grew on his body during those two years.

He was 18 when he met Ben Hanscom. And suddenly the flowers came back.

Ben was a mutant his age. He was trying to get into college, but they rejected him because of his mutation. 

Mike knew what is was like to be hated for your skin, now. 

Mike gave him a job at the farm- when his grandfather had passed away from cancer the past year, he hand grown very lonely and work became a struggle. 

It wasn't anymore. 

Ben was really smart, he talked a lot about buildings and history. Mike loved to listen to him. He was a sweet boy who could make Mike laugh all the time. They became best friends. 

And Mike never looked back. 

**Author's Note:**

> yell at me on tumblr! (https://ahoytrashmouth.tumblr.com/)


End file.
